Ideas to Limit Screen Time
Dear Mama,
“Do not be confirmed to this works, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2
I recently read Habits of the Household by Justin Whitman Earley @justinwhitmelearley. In his chapter on screen time, he asks the question about how much screen time is too much. However, he goes deeper.
I personally don’t like my children watching too much TV because it makes them zombie-like. Their creativity seems to lag. Earley goes deeper than the creativity part. He discusses how either screens are forming our children or we, the parents, are forming our children.
I had never seen screen time as a battle of formation and influence. I just knew it was the best. However, Earley’s argument made me think much deeper about what we let our children watch.
Our children’s formation encompasses character, wisdom, creativity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to distinguish between good and evil, true and false, and beauty and ugliness.
The goal is not to shield our children from evil, explicit language, sex, violence, and dangerous ideas. Instead, the goal is to equip our children with the necessary tools to navigate the world’s immorality.
Ensure that the entertainment is of high quality, offers good moral teachings, and is engaging. Sadly, many of the newer programs are twaddle.
Below are some tips on how to set boundaries on screen time while making it quality screen time:
* Set Limits
* Family Movie Nights
* Screenless car rides
* Company over movie night
* Select good content over new content
* Media that expands or educates the mind
* Make a watch list
I will be expanding on these later in my blog. But for now, what do you think? Can you add any other tips to that list?
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